


The Bridge Between Realities

by aj_linguistik



Series: SAO Prideweek 2019 [1]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Day 1, F/F, One Shot, SAO Prideweek 2019, Virtual World vs Real World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 16:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: Written for SAO Prideweek 2019's Day 1 prompt: Virtual World versus Real World.They've never been bold enough to try a date in the real world. But they had to start somewhere. This was that somewhere.





	The Bridge Between Realities

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi, it's me, Mr. S-GAY-O. I've been holding onto these one-shots for a few weeks. I hope they're enjoyable to ya'll as they were for me to write. I will have posted and tagged a little amateurish art to go with each one on my tumblr, thegayfromrulid. I'm happy I got to be here to witness an SAO Prideweek and participate!
> 
> Thanks to camomilafil for beta reading!

           It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same at ALL.

           ALO was a safe space. It was free from the prying eyes of parents and bystanders who might naysay. She wanted to believe that in 2025 people were more open-minded. But she’d never done anything like this before. Their dates were almost exclusively in ALO. Hell—she’d asked her out in Alne.

           Online was just…different.

           Rika, known online as Lisbeth, tugged at the collar of her sweater for the sake of having something to fidget with. She never felt this nervous when they were meeting up for alone time in ALO. In fact, she almost always eagerly logged on to meet up with her beloved, holding out a hand to her the moment she logged in.

           In the end, it was Shino’s idea to finally have a date in the real world. A date where they weren’t Lisbeth and Sinon, but rather Rika and Shino. Not that Rika had a problem with that. It just made her nervous, that was all. She had to focus on the positive points of this sort of date. Then, and only then, could she move past the anxiety turning over in her gut.

           “Positive points, Rika, positive points!” she said, chanting it to herself like a mantra.

           She crossed the road as soon as the crosswalk light turned green. For this date, she’d agreed to do the travelling. Shino usually was a good sport and came all the way to Dicey Café for things, but Rika wanted to give her the shorter walk today. Shino had given her the address of a little café that was closer to her school—a café with a specific meaning, she’d said.

           Rika forced herself to stop playing with her sweater by tightly grasping the straps of her bag. She took a deep breath, then she let it out slowly. There were plenty of positive things to focus on about a date in the real world. As she searched for the correct address on the doors of the shops, she listed them to herself in her head.

           For one, they’d finally get to hold each other’s hands. It wasn’t like they didn’t do that in ALO, but there was something quantifiably different about touching real skin versus touching skin in a VR setting. She’d once listened to Kirito babble on about it—she’d barely understood his technobabble, but she understood the gist of what he meant through personal experience. There would certainly be something more tangible to holding Shino’s hand here as opposed to Alne.

           Another benefit to this date would be the absence of avatars. Avatars felt like a mask that one put on to hide online. In this world, Rika didn’t have Lisbeth’s bright pink hair and ability to swing a heavy hammer. Shino didn’t have Sinon’s mint-colored locks or flitting cat ears. They would both be their genuine selves, restricted to non-gamer talk.

           Well, that last bit might be self-imposed.

           That led to the next point. They’d be able to talk about themselves outside of the gaming context. Even on their private dates away from the rest of the party, they still often defaulted to talking about their recent quests or favorite things about the gameplay of ALO versus other games. Not that either of them had that much experience playing other games, when Shino had been specifically into GGO and Rika’s history was with SAO.

           She sighed. 

           That was one thing that she wasn’t sure if she could discuss outside of VR anyways. Inside of ALO, it was easy to feign that she didn’t have any kind of negative associations with SAO. She didn’t want to admit to Shino that something in her felt pain when she looked up at New Aincrad—but there was also something that Shino likely felt when playing GGO that she didn’t get, either. Maybe they’d find the courage to discuss that in the real world.

           Her feet finally stopped in front of the café that matched the address. She took a quick glance through the windows and saw Shino bundled up in her coat and scarf at one of the booths, staring down at her phone. Seeing Shino made her anxiety die down to a more tolerable level. She smiled and entered the shop.

           Shino’s head lifted when she heard the door swing open, announcing the arrival of a new customer. Rika waved at her, flashing her a bold grin. The other girl’s poker face transformed into a soft, pleasant smile. She stood up when Rika approached.

           “I was hoping it wasn’t too hard to get here,” Shino said.

           Rika threw her arms around Shino in an embrace. It was likely in poor taste to do so in public, but she really needed the comforting contact with her girlfriend. Shino didn’t pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Rika’s waist and returned the gesture. The hug felt as if it were too short, and before she knew it, Rika was seated across from Shino, gazing awkwardly at the menu in front of her.

           “Do you have any suggestions?” Rika asked.

           Shino tilted her head.

           “I normally order the same thing every time I come in, an iced coffee with cream and sugar,” she said. “Not too much sugar, though. I don’t like them very sweet.”

           Rika hummed. Shino slid a menu over to her. 

           “I picked this specific café because they have a specialty drink that reminds me of your color scheme in ALO, actually,” Shino said.

           She pointed to a seasonal drink that had an image next to it. It looked red and pink from a mixture of peppermint flavorings. Rika almost laughed. The colors were spot on for Lisbeth’s ALO outfit. She noted a green-colored matcha beverage that went well with Sinon as well. She jabbed her finger into the picture.

           “I’ll get this one if you go out of your usual and go for the peppermint one,” she said, teasingly. “If nothing else, to take a cheesy girlfriends picture to bother the others with.”

           A smile tugged at the corner of Shino’s mouth. Rika could tell she wasn’t the only one who was nervous, but her comment seemed to lighten the tension ever so slightly. Shino nodded.

           “I think Asuna would find it cute,” she remarked.

           “Maybe I find it cute, too,” Rika chuckled.

           Shino couldn’t help but softly giggle in response. 

           Both girls fell silent. The pressure of sitting out in the real world weighed on them, causing this stopgap in communication. Rika internally longed for the safety and comfort of taking on a quest with Sinon. She felt as if every pair of eyes in this café was glued to them. The waitress approached the table, asked them for their orders, and they hurriedly gave them.

           Their silence continued. Rika stared at Shino’s right hand. It rested on the table; so close, yet at the same time, so far away. In ALO, she wouldn’t have hesitated to reach across the table and grasp that hand. Her fingers longed for the warmth of Shino’s hand.

           What was so different about the real world and a VRMMO that she felt such fear for displaying her affection now? She wasn’t trying to pull what Kirito and Asuna were always doing—inappropriately locking lips on the street or at school. She simply wanted to hold her girlfriend’s hand. There was nothing wrong with that.

           The more she thought about it, the more Rika knew she had to bridge that gap—the gap between their relationship in the virtual world versus their relationship in the real world. They remained the same two people who’d first kissed watching the sun set on a digital world. Nothing about them had changed; the only difference now was that they were truly themselves.

           Drawing in a deep breath, Rika lifted her hand and slid it across the table. Her fingers made contact with Shino’s. The other girl stared down at her hand as Rika’s palm slowly covered hers. Shino adjusted her hand so that they could interlock fingers. Rika gently squeezed her hand, unable to contain her smile.

           “It’s okay to be nervous,” Shino said. “I’m nervous, too.”

           Rika gazed down at their hands, clasped together. Shino felt warm. She had texture to her skin that VR couldn’t quite replicate. Her skin moved over her bones as Rika’s fingers rubbed over it. She could tell her hands were slightly dry from the winter air but were regularly moisturized with lotion. Her fingertips could make out small scars from past scratches. None of this sensory information would have been captured by their avatars touching. This was special—she was holding her  _ actual _ hand.

           The waitress returned and placed their drink orders in front of them—pink and red for Shino, green for Rika. They thanked her as she hurried off to help another customer. Rika slipped over into the booth on Shino’s side and held up her drink to take a sip. Shino lifted hers as well and held up her phone to take a selfie.

           “This might make it seem cuter,” Rika said.

           She wrapped her free arm around Shino’s shoulders. She leaned over and made sure her temple was against Shino’s. The simple pleasure of being able to hold Shino close in the real world kept her warm despite the cold drink in her palm. Shino moved her finger to snap the picture. On impulse, Rika turned her head and planted a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek the moment the camera took the shot. It barely missed the rouge of Shino’s skin.

           “I think I like that better here than in ALO,” Rika said softly.

           Presuming she was making Shino uncomfortable, she let go of her and moved to return to her side of the booth. However, Shino grasped her free hand. She held onto it tightly, silently refusing Rika’s desire to move.

           “Let’s just stay like this a little longer,” she whispered.

           She couldn’t say no to that.

           “Okay.”

           Shino rested her head against Rika’s shoulder.

           “You were right,” Rika said. “There are some things that we can’t enjoy in ALO that we can enjoy in the real world.”

           Closing her eyes, Shino smiled and took a sip of her drink.

           “I’m glad you agree.”

           As the two sat there, enjoying their treats and one another’s warmth, Rika felt that gap start to close, inch by inch. VR was not the same as the real world; she knew that just as well as anyone else did. But that didn’t mean that  _ everything _ had to be different. Her love for Shino Asada was the same whether logged into a video game or seated at a small café.

           Rika smiled at the thought.

           Maybe the two worlds were more similar than she’d originally imagined. 


End file.
